>> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america." the tale of the tape. it romney gets grilled. nato announces it is scaling back missions with afghan security forces after number of deadly attacks. how much will really change underground's? and, rediscovering the music of -- now his songs are sounding the right and notes.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 49 days to go until the election, tonight a secret videotape can of mitt romney is the talk of the campaign trail. romney is heard as dismissing 47% of americans as government dependent. who see themselves as victims. he said his comments were not an elegantly stated. what is the fallout? >> mitt romney does not need headlines like this 49 days before america votes. his latest problem is "mother jones" publishing a video of a dinner with trichet supporters. he suggests almost half of all

americans are scrounge is. >> 47% who voted for the president are dependent and believe their victims who believe they are entitled to health care, food, and housing. you name it. they will vote for this president a matter what. >> he also says peace in the middle east is unthinkable because palestinians have no interest in it. within hours of the video becoming public, he called a hasty news conference. >> i am speaking off the cuff in response to a question. >> the obama campaign raced out a new advertisement. >> it shows he thinks that half of the country feels like

victims. >> victims, i would not say so. >> the real problem is this is not a one-off. he spent the last days explaining away controversial remarks rather than punching home his big message. and his campaign seems to have descended into bickering panicked by the polls. in the race for the why house, barack obama and mitt romney were neck-and-neck but after the party conventions, the president called a head. -- pulled ahead. >> the campaign has been ragged around the edges. it needs to be sharpened. the candidates to be focused. he is no worse than two. behind. he is no worse than even with money. romney is strong the last to get better. >> mitt romney and the president

agree the gulf between their visions -- the candidates is learning that dismissing voters on the other side of the divide is not good politics. >> how pivotal a row with its recording play in the presidential campaign? for answers we turn to a staff writer covering national politics for the atlantic. less than 50 days to go until the presidential election. how damaging is this to mitt romney? >> if it is it will be because it plays into the doubts a lot of voters already have about mitt romney. the ida he is out of touch and does not understand average people. you can hear the democrats amplifying that attack and pointing to these comments saying he looks down on americans who are making do with less or do not have as many

opportunities. he is calling them miniatures saying they are lazy and shiftless and saying he does not want to be their president. he is only speaking to the people who share his philosophy. >> this is a very small number of voters. how do you think those remarks will go down? >> as an economic analysis, there a number of problems about what he was saying. as a political analysis, he is correct that the race is frozen in place and each candidate has about 47%. the question is whether comment's like this are really only speaking to his conservative base. even a lot of republicans do not agree with a sentiment like this. will it turn off the working class voters?

>> what do stink hispanic voters will think of what he had to say? >> -- do you think hispanic voters will think of what he sad to say? >> the defense said have heard of these comments is that even those americans who receive benefits do not think of themselves as takers. it is always somebody else who is the lazy one benefiting from government. people do not look of themselves that way. >> it seems as though the campaign is turning on a self with staffers against one another. >> these are complaints that are starting to get louder. a lot of republicans outside of the campaign also starting to sound pessimistic. this is one of the sentence you often see when things are slipping away or going wrong. the pulse do not show that. they show a tight race.

but there is a feeling among republicans, even with more than a month to go, that the whole thing could be getting away from them. >> now to afghanistan where the policy of the next president will have -- after weeks of attacks against nato troops by the afghan forces their training, some joint operations have been suspended. only large corporations will be conducted jointly. smaller ones will be evaluated. >> british and afghan soldiers on patrol facing the taliban. these missions will only happen with senior approval. a dramatic increase, killing foreign soldiers, it means the mission is keeping its partners at arm's length. >> obviously we take that seriously. to be honest, have we accelerated that in some cases? yes.

have we stepped back? yes. we're not walking away. >> the british defense secretary denies this is a change in strategy. >> this is a draft we are looking at. we are looking at it now. >> international missions says it is not a draft. it will be effective from sunday. petitions forces seem to have been caught unaware. >> yesterday i asked about these deaths and he did not mention this at all. either he knew about it and was hiding or the americans are not bothering to tell their allies. >> the defense secretary was in front of parliament to clarify the policy in afghanistan. >> there has been no change of policy in afghanistan. as i told the house yesterday, the security of our forces in afghanistan remains a defense

priority. the safety of our service personnel is an issue that all in government take extremely seriously. >> there has been a rise in the number of green and blue killings. afghans targeting nato troops. in 2007, two soldiers died as a result of these attacks. by 2011, the figure had jumped to 35. nato has lost 51 troops. seven of them british. it will partner with afghans on the biggest commissions. joint patrols have stopped. they will be approved with the permission of senior commandos. the strategy has been to train afghans to face the taliban. the closer they work together, the greater the risk to british and other soldiers. already soldiers are packing up and going home. international troops are stepping back earlier than

expected. soon after an forces will be left to do most of the fighting. >> for moron the policy, i spoke with the u.s. ambassador to nato. >> if american troops cannot rely on afghan soldiers not to shoot them, has policy failed? >> this is a critical point where we need to protect soldiers and focus on the strategy looking forward. right now it has been a transition to afghan leadership. it requires the international forces to be working in lockstep. if we cannot count on that, you really have to ask yourself, is this strategy working? by setting a deadline and signaling to the taliban we will be living, -- leaving, that has been giving them certainty. i think the afghan security

forces are patriotic in trying to defend their country. but the fact that the taliban is using these kind of attacks is having an impact. it calls into question what happens when we do withdraw. >> you think the deadline is involving the taliban. >> i think it has. they can see they know the international forces are going to be gone. can they intimidate the local forces in such a way they can have a return to power? >> there is no going back. >> it is difficult. we have to ask ourselves some questions now. we have been there for 11 years. it have we done nothing at all? and we return to a situation where the taliban returns to power? where do we care about the long- term outcome? what would be the implications for our own interests if we see

it return to taliban rule tax >> there are 350,000 members. if nato troops will not control with them, how about ordinary afghans? >> that is the. the taliban is trying to make. is not safe to rely on the security forces. as international forces withdraw, only the taliban will be reckoned with. that is the challenge we have. if our goal is a stable afghanistan, we have to be prepared to make a longer commitment. >> thank you. in other news, striking miners in south africa are returning to work on thursday ending a six wheat dispute. the deal reached with the company is said to include a 22% pay increase. the strike cost to the mining sector more than half a billion dollars.

anti-japanese protesters have taken to the streets of china over an escalating territorial dispute. four days of talk -- forced many japanese companies to suspend operations in china. around the disputed islands in the east china sea. they were said to have left the area by late evening. a french court has banned any further publication of photographs showing the duchess of cambridge sunbathing topless on holiday. the ruling says the publishers of the magazine must hand over all digital copies of the images within 24 hours. a spokesman for the royal couple said they welcomed the decision. our paris correspondent reports. >> the paradise under and the different kind of airport transfer.

the duke and duchess of riven above the controversy. how could they not in the face of such a welcome? together they took part in a color file island dancing competition an occasion where every move a study closely. but this is the kind of occasion when they are happy to be on show. it is the private moments that are out of bounds. thousands of miles away, the media a master around the door where representatives from the office rendered the injunction. are you happy for their client, they asked? yes, it is a good result, she said. the magistrates banned the future publication of defending photographs. there will be a 10,000 euro fine for every preacher of the order. all the photographs are to be handed over to the two

contentious within 24 hours with another 10,000 for each day of delay. this lawyer said it was the best possible outcome. >> the damage has been done. future damage will be limited by this decision. >> the duke and duchess welcome to the wording. it was a brutal exposure on the front page. but there is no mention in this judgment of the photographer although the newspapers speculate he or she may be british. how the photographer was employed, whether on a free- lance basis, would determine who owns the intellectual property rights. in spite of the judgment, the photographer could be free to sell the images abroad. caroling only refers to images published. the editor has already suggested there are more intimate pictures out there. all of these questions will be covered by the criminal case which the prosecutor opened

today. he must determine who is accused and from which position the photographs were taken. there is a road that the lawyer said he would need a long telephoto lens to view the couple's about any. at least to the ruling will put down a marker. there is that a sense of wanting to protect his wife. there are obvious parallels with the treatment suffered by his late mother and he has made it clear he will resort to the courts if and when it is necessary. >> the latest on those photos of date. you are watching "bbc world news america." china -- china tries to put it scandal behind it.

if you think of going on a cruise, you probably think about the mediterranean. how about belfast? >> the changing face of belfast. international cruise ships used to steer clear of the shores. not anymore. 4000 passengers and crew arrived and this family from the philippines could not wait to see belfast for the first time. >> we love the idea of going to european countries. belfast is one of them. we took advantage of that. can we go now? >> a record 43 chips have come this year. that is 43 more than 15 years ago. the violence used to stop visitors coming. the trouble has not stopped completely.

but the city has been transformed by the peace process with a series of new attractions, including the titanic center. it has had half a million visitors. but what do the tourists make of this setting? >> everyone was friendly and kind and helpful. we had a lovely time. >> was it what you're expecting? >> better. it was much better than i expected. >> tourism is not just helping the image of belfast, it is a financial boost. these are difficult times for northern ireland's economy. international visitors is not going to solve those problems overnight, but could only help. these are the waters where the titanic was lost. belfast is no longer building ships but it is attracting them. mark simpson, bbc news.

>> in china, the trial of a police chief accused of covering up the murder of a business -- british businessman has come to an end. officials said that he had not contested charges and might receive a lenient punishment. the wife of a senior politician has already been convicted of murdering mr. hayward. our correspondent has the latest. >> he was once a hero in china. the crime-fighting cop now a felony trial himself after he still this country's dirty secrets. he exposed murder, cover-up, and corruption by some of the most powerful. the court was ringed by police. the trial off-limits to a journalist. china's communist leaders embarrassed, want to close this can now. it began in the city where he

was the chief hearing -- doing the dirty work for his communist party boss. in february he made a flight to the consulate, seeking refuge and dropped his bombshell. he told diplomats neil hayward had been murdered. by this woman, the wife of one of china's most powerful politicians. last month she was convicted of the killing. he had initially helped recover of her crime. now he is cooperating to escape a death sentence. the parts that have happened are the most sensitive. it tends to defect charges he recorded conversations among senior leaders. yes opened a window onto a closed world. he wants to resolve so they can

go ahead with their leadership change due in a few weeks' time. outside of the courts, a protester was quickly dealt with. the party seems all sure what to do about the onetime contender now suspended. >> that to a singer whose music is enjoying a revival. known as rodriguez, he recorded two albums in the 1970's before leaving music to work on a detroit construction site. thousands of miles away, his songs gained a following among supporters of the anti-apartheid movement. one of those fans tracked him down in the u.s. and now his stories being told in a documentary called -- "searching for sugarman."

♪ >> i am a solid 70. i have done the 1980's, the 1990's. i was born and bred in detroit, michigan. my mother and father are mexicans. i describe myself -- i wanted to make something of myself. i left the music dream and i went back to work. >> if you walked into a random house solve that had a turntable, and a few flips of

the records you know is c abbey road by the beatles, bridge over troubled water by simon and garfunkel, and rodriguez. it was one of the most famous records of all time. >> i went back to work doing demolition and construction. >> it was one of the biggest albums of the day. we did not know who this guy was. on all of the other rock stars, we have all the information we needed. on this guy, there was nothing. >> they told me about this fine days. -- fan base. they needed the lyrics to the songs. apparently they used to trade cassettes of my stuff.

all right, then. it is a phenomenon. who would have thought? it is almost like winning the lottery. ♪ ♪ [applause] >> singer and songwriter rodriguez on how his music is connecting with a new generation. that brings today's showed to a close but remember you confined updates on our website. for all of us at world news

america, thank you for watching and tune in tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry to operate in. working to nurture new ventures

and provide capital for strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

- hi, neighbor! today is fruit picking day! we're going to the enchanted garden to pick fruit. and then, we're going to help my dad build a playhouse. we have a lot to do today. i'm glad you're here. be right back! is made possible in part by... the richard king mellon foundation. dedicated for over sixty years to south western pennsylvania's quality of life, and competitive future. and by these pittsburg foundations. working together to enhance and enrich the lives of children for more than seventy-five years. and by the arthur vining davis foundations. dedicated to strengthening america's future through education. adcasting, dedicated to strengthening america's future and contributions to your pbs station, from viewers like you.

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